Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Italian Essentials

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Cheese has been a staple of the Italian diet for as long as there has been a recorded history of Italy. It adds flavor to every dish, pairs beautifully
with pastas and vegetables
and enriches creamy sauces.

At Olive Garden, like in Italy, cheese is used to add flavor in a variety of dishes - as a topping on pizza, between layers of lasagna, and in many of our homemade sauces. We use an array of Italian cheeses in our recipes, including smoked mozzarella, provolone, asiago, ricotta, gorgonzola and mascarpone.

One of the most popular cheeses in Italy and at Olive Garden is Pecorino Romano. This aromatic, sharply flavorful cheese is made from sheep’s milk. We import all our Pecorino Romano cheese from Italy to ensure you enjoy the best quality with the richest, most satisfying flavor. Enjoy it freshly grated by your server tableside on our garden fresh salad and pasta dishes.

Grana Padano is another flavorful cheese used in abundance at Olive Garden. Made from cow’s milk, Grana Padano is a hard, grainy-textured cheese that we grate over our pasta dishes, like Capellini Pomodoro. Our Grana Padano is imported from Italy and aged for 18 months, which lends it a more savory, sweet and sublime flavor.

How Cheese is Made

Most cheese is made from the milk of a cow, sheep, or goat. Each type of cheese takes on unique flavor and texture based on where the animals were raised, how the cheese is handled, the storing and aging process, and even the weather in the cheese-making region.

• Fresh milk sits at room temperature for 24 hours until it becomes yogurt-like in it consistency. This is the “starter culture” for the cheese.

• The “starter culture” is added to heated, fresh milk and the mixture is allowed to cool and rest overnight.

• Rennet, a traditional ingredient which contains an enzyme that causes the milk to coagulate, is added and creates curds.

• The mixture is drained through cheesecloth to separate the liquid portion of the mixture from the solid curds portion.

• The curds are retained in the cheesecloth, then shaped and pressed to a uniform size, often a round wheel.

• The wheel is dried, and sealed in wax to cure and age. Aging enhances the flavor of cheese.

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